Author: Carol A. Lewis

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13:

Employee Trip Reduction (ETR) in Texas gained prominence between 1991 and 1992 as one method to address air quality problems in major urban areas. ETR was a requirement in the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 requiring pollution reduction plans in non-attainment areas. Houston, then and now, registered the most severe pollution in the state and was under mandatory trip reduction according to guidelines administered by the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC), the agency charged with air quality compliance in Texas. Although Dallas, Beaumont, and El Paso were also found to be outside of compliance, the ratings for those cities were less severe and mandatory trip reduction was not required. From the program's onset, employers responded negatively to the requirements and began lobbying elected officials and others to repeal the mandatory trip reduction program. TNRCC, then, structured a voluntary trip reduction program for the state. The purpose of this work is to examine trip reduction in its voluntary form and assess its effectiveness. Specifically this study reviews the experience of companies that have voluntary trip reduction programs. It seeks to answer the question of what conditions seem to attract the greatest participation.